Emotional: How Feelings Shape Our Thinking
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- Create Date：2022-01-19 04:16:19
- Update Date：2025-09-24
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- Author：Leonard Mlodinow
- ISBN：1524747599
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Summary
We've all been told we need to master our emotions and think rationally to succeed。 But at the cutting-edge science of emotion， feelings are every bit as important to your success as thinking。
You make hundreds of decisions every day， from what to eat for breakfast to how you should invest， and not one of them could be made without the essential component of emotion。 It has long been held that thinking and feeling are separate and opposing forces in our behavior。 But as best-selling author of Subliminal Leonard Mlodinow tells us， extraordinary advances in psychology and neuroscience have proven that emotions are as critical to our well-being as thinking。
How can you connect better with others？ How can you improve your relationship to frustration， fear， and anxiety？ What can you do to live a happier life？ The answers lie in understanding emotions。 Taking us on a journey from the labs of pioneering scientists to real-world scenarios that have flirted with disaster， Mlodinow shows us how our emotions help， why they sometimes hurt， and what we can make of the difference。
Research-driven questionnaires and deep insights into our evolution， biology， and neuroscience promise to help us understand our emotions better and maximize their benefits。 Told with characteristic clarity and fascinating stories， Mlodinow's exploration of the new science of feelings is an essential guide to making the most of one of nature's greatest gifts to us。
You make hundreds of decisions every day， from what to eat for breakfast to how you should invest， and not one of them could be made without the essential component of emotion。 It has long been held that thinking and feeling are separate and opposing forces in our behavior。 But as best-selling author of Subliminal Leonard Mlodinow tells us， extraordinary advances in psychology and neuroscience have proven that emotions are as critical to our well-being as thinking。
How can you connect better with others？ How can you improve your relationship to frustration， fear， and anxiety？ What can you do to live a happier life？ The answers lie in understanding emotions。 Taking us on a journey from the labs of pioneering scientists to real-world scenarios that have flirted with disaster， Mlodinow shows us how our emotions help， why they sometimes hurt， and what we can make of the difference。
Research-driven questionnaires and deep insights into our evolution， biology， and neuroscience promise to help us understand our emotions better and maximize their benefits。 Told with characteristic clarity and fascinating stories， Mlodinow's exploration of the new science of feelings is an essential guide to making the most of one of nature's greatest gifts to us。
Reviews
Ams Leafs
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I learned about Mlodinow after seeing him show up as an "author similar to Sam Kean"Mlodinow just seems like an overall good guy。 For those that don't know， he partnered up with Stephen Hawking for a few of his later books。I learned a great deal from this book from tips on emotional regulation to developing a better understanding of a person's emotional profile。 The "gut brain" and "core affect" are two other areas of interest addressed in this book。I appreciated how he made research in this boo I learned about Mlodinow after seeing him show up as an "author similar to Sam Kean"Mlodinow just seems like an overall good guy。 For those that don't know， he partnered up with Stephen Hawking for a few of his later books。I learned a great deal from this book from tips on emotional regulation to developing a better understanding of a person's emotional profile。 The "gut brain" and "core affect" are two other areas of interest addressed in this book。I appreciated how he made research in this book personal through entwining stories about his ageing mother。Any other Mlodinow fans？Any similar authors to Sam Kean and Mlodinow that people have enjoyed？ 。。。more
Bookoholiccafe
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This was my first book by this author， and I believe he is significantly talented in simplifying complex topics without weakening the fundamental nature。 In this book， the author explains the emotional aspects to explain how emotions play a central role in our lives。I really enjoyed reading about Stanislav Petrov， its September 26th， 1983， and Petrov is guarding a graveyard against missiles that may be attached from the United States。 （This time in history is the pick of Cod War。） He is instruct This was my first book by this author， and I believe he is significantly talented in simplifying complex topics without weakening the fundamental nature。 In this book， the author explains the emotional aspects to explain how emotions play a central role in our lives。I really enjoyed reading about Stanislav Petrov， its September 26th， 1983， and Petrov is guarding a graveyard against missiles that may be attached from the United States。 （This time in history is the pick of Cod War。） He is instructed to report to his superior if he sees anything suspicious。 But when he sees a potential threat on his monitor he decided to wait and assure that there has been no system malfunction。 He later appeared to be right and when was asked why he didn’t immediately report to his superior he said he didn’t want to be responsible for the third world war。In this book， the author demonstrates how emotions manage the process of thinking。 There are so many touching stories to back up his theory。 and he also offers a questionnaire for his readers that helps determine their score on emotions like anxiety， grief， anger， and …。I really enjoyed the science and devoured it。 I really liked how the author mixed his stories and experiences together to help his reader understand everything better。 And the questionnaire was a brilliant addition to this book。 。。。more
Angela
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Leonard Mlodinow explains fully why we do things。 This book enables you to fully understand why we think and do things we do。
Maher Razouk
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على الرغم من أن أفلاطون رأى أن عواطفنا وعقلانيتنا تعمل بانسجام ، إلا أنه في القرون التي تلت أفلاطون ، أصبح يُنظر إلى هذين الجانبين من حياتنا العقلية على أنهما يعملان بالتعارض مع بعضهما البعض。 كان يُنظر إلى العقل على أنه أسمى وحتى أنه مقدس ، بينما يجب تجنب العواطف أو احتوائها。 وافق الفلاسفة المسيحيون لاحقًا على هذا الرأي جزئيًا。 لقد صنفوا شهوات الإنسان وعواطفه على أنها خطايا يجب على الروح الفاضلة أن تتجنبها ، لكنهم اعتبروا الحب والرحمة فضائل。نشأ مصطلح "العاطفة" من عمل توماس ويليس ، طبيب لندن من ا على الرغم من أن أفلاطون رأى أن عواطفنا وعقلانيتنا تعمل بانسجام ، إلا أنه في القرون التي تلت أفلاطون ، أصبح يُنظر إلى هذين الجانبين من حياتنا العقلية على أنهما يعملان بالتعارض مع بعضهما البعض。 كان يُنظر إلى العقل على أنه أسمى وحتى أنه مقدس ، بينما يجب تجنب العواطف أو احتوائها。 وافق الفلاسفة المسيحيون لاحقًا على هذا الرأي جزئيًا。 لقد صنفوا شهوات الإنسان وعواطفه على أنها خطايا يجب على الروح الفاضلة أن تتجنبها ، لكنهم اعتبروا الحب والرحمة فضائل。نشأ مصطلح "العاطفة" من عمل توماس ويليس ، طبيب لندن من القرن السابع عشر。 لقد كان أيضًا خبيرًا في علم التشريح ، وإذا فارقت الحياة وأنت تحت رعايته ، فهناك فرصة جيدة لتشريحك。 في مواقف الحياة أو الموت ، لم يكن من المريح معرفة أن طبيبك سيفوز في كلتا الحالتين。 لكن ويليس كان لديه أيضًا مصدر آخر للجثث : فقد حصل على إذن من الملك تشارلز الأول لإجراء تشريح للجثث على المجرمين المشنوقين。في سياق بحثه ، حدّد ويليس العديد من أجزاء الدماغ التي ما زلنا ندرسها حتى اليوم。 والأهم من ذلك ، أنه وجد أن السلوكيات المنحرفة للعديد من المجرمين يمكن إرجاعها إلى سمات محددة لتلك الأجزاء 。 اعتمد علماء الفسيولوجيا في وقت لاحق على عمل ويليس لفحص الاستجابات الانعكاسية عند الحيوانات。。Leonard MlodinowEmotionalTranslated By #Maher_Razouk 。。。more
Brian Clegg
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Leonard Mlodinow has a mixed pedigree as a science writer， responsible with Stephen Hawking for the infamously naive The Grand Design in which the authors told us that we don't need philosophy any more， because science now has all the answers。 However， he feels on more comfortable ground in Emotional， which assesses the importance of emotions to us， and how they have long been underrated， or even considered an obstacle to rational thought。This is a popular science book in the classic American na Leonard Mlodinow has a mixed pedigree as a science writer， responsible with Stephen Hawking for the infamously naive The Grand Design in which the authors told us that we don't need philosophy any more， because science now has all the answers。 However， he feels on more comfortable ground in Emotional， which assesses the importance of emotions to us， and how they have long been underrated， or even considered an obstacle to rational thought。This is a popular science book in the classic American narrative style， where each chapter begins with a story about real people to put the science into context （and there are often more stories through the chapter）。 This is obviously a great way to explore this very human science （and we learn that even fruit flies appear to have a kind of emotion）， though sometimes there is too much storytelling and not enough of the science。The underlying theme throughout is how important emotions are to everything from decision making to survival。 We discover the differences between a reflex and an emotional response and how our rational abilities are helped by emotions， except when the emotions get out of control。 Mlodinow also goes beyond the brain to bring in the relationship of the rest of the body and the mind - we don't talk about gut feelings， or a visceral emotion for nothing。 Along the way we visit emotions from anxiety to joy， rage to lust via embarrassment， fear and pride。 Although the market is totally overloaded with neuroscience books at the moment， there's plenty here that isn't commonly covered。To begin with， I had thought this would be a four star review。 The book opens well and is convincing about how we underestimate the importance of emotion。 However， my initial enthusiasm did not continue at the same level。 Mlodinow comes across as evangelical on emotions to the point of overplaying their role。 There's something of the the law of the instrument about it - because he is so focussed on emotions， Mlodinow sees their influence everywhere， in ways that don't always seem convincing。One broad concern is that despite referencing many social science studies， there is no mention of the replication crisis - it wasn't clear how many of these studies are sound。 A couple of specific issues too。 In illustrating valence and persistence， two of the 'five properties' of emotion states （valence， persistence， generalisability， scalability and being automatic）， Mlodinow imagines an 'ancient ancestor' who gets in an emotional state on encountering a snake: the author ascribes to emotion that she will continue to keep an eye out for snakes afterwards， without explaining why this might not be simply a result of rationally thinking 'If I've seen one， I might see another。'In another example， Mlodinow describes a circumstance during the Second World War where his father makes a last-minute decision not to get into a truck which was subsequently attacked with all in it killed。 According to Mlodinow， his father's rational mind had told him to get in the truck， but his body's 'sensor system' had analysed 'additional information， subtle clues about his environment and bodily state' that enabled him to go beyond rational thought。 Yet we are given no evidence that this was the case rather than a matter of random luck。 In the past， I've not got on a plane because I had a last minute feeling it was going to crash。 It didn't。 It was just a useless random feeling， not some warning from my body - the kind of irrational response we get all the time。 It's simply bad science to assume that Mlodinow's father's action was prompted by the near-magical abilities of what the author later describes as 'core affect'。Some interesting material， then， but the way it is presented suffers from confirmation bias。 Mlodinow wants emotions and core affect to be particularly important in how we do things and finds evidence that shows this， while rarely justifying it sufficiently to be acceptable。 The science may be there， but we aren't presented with enough of it to be convinced。 。。。more
Fern Adams
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This was such a brilliant book to begin 2022 with！ I love it when the first book of the year starts off well， though it does set a difficult precedent for the next few！4。5 stars‘Emotional’， as the title suggests， looks at the subject of emotions from a neuroscience lens。 Mlodinow debunks the idea that emotions are something that are irrational and should be dismissed and instead successfully argues they play far more of an essential role in being human and our everyday lives than we often realis This was such a brilliant book to begin 2022 with！ I love it when the first book of the year starts off well， though it does set a difficult precedent for the next few！4。5 stars‘Emotional’， as the title suggests， looks at the subject of emotions from a neuroscience lens。 Mlodinow debunks the idea that emotions are something that are irrational and should be dismissed and instead successfully argues they play far more of an essential role in being human and our everyday lives than we often realise。 Through a range of examples from fruit flies and alcohol， to judges decisions being influenced by the time of day， to even a time nuclear war was prevented thanks to one man’s gut instinct， this is a book full of insightful information！It also is a practical handbook too as quizzes allow you to establish your own emotional profile and the influence this may have on your own life and things you can do to adjust this。 What I really appreciated however was Mlodinow practicing what he preached and setting aside time to show how his own emotions， especially those relating to his mother who had deteriorating health at the time of writing， influenced him。 This perhaps was the best example of all in the book as it broke away from the impersonal， which we often associate with science， to show just how impractical and often inaccurate that can be。 It also made it far more readable and engaging too to see the author as a human and how his research played out in reality。I really enjoyed this one and am going to have to go and look up more of Mlodinow’s work！Thank you to the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review！ 😃 。。。more
Nicola Michelle
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Emotions are something we all have but are often at odds to be able to explain。 A gut feeling， anger， anxiety， happiness and depression。 This book shed some real light on the science behind what we feel and incorporated research and real world scenerios to drive home the complexity and amazing advancements in this area of science。 Leonard Mlodinow is truly an amazing writer and science communicator and it made the experience of reading this book effortless。This book was so engrossing！ Right from Emotions are something we all have but are often at odds to be able to explain。 A gut feeling， anger， anxiety， happiness and depression。 This book shed some real light on the science behind what we feel and incorporated research and real world scenerios to drive home the complexity and amazing advancements in this area of science。 Leonard Mlodinow is truly an amazing writer and science communicator and it made the experience of reading this book effortless。This book was so engrossing！ Right from the get go， it drew me in and kept me reading and learning。 He highlighted just how much thoughts and research has changed on the topic over time， to what was thought throughout history to what were just beginning to understand now。 From animal emotions to the relationship of the gut-brain axis， there’s plenty in this book to interest。 Also， the fact that male fruit flies turn to alcohol after being spurned by female fruit flies added something to my life I didn’t know I needed！ It was written amazingly well， perfect for the seasoned non fictional reader or for the first time enthusiast alike。 It’s written for everyone， with digestible chunks and easy to understand language， whilst still driving home the messages and complexities of this field。 I loved the science in this and completely devoured the book within a few days。 It had a perfect mix between the authors own stories， the experiences of situations and emotions as told by others， real world and scientific research。 I also loved the addition of learning your own emotional profile and the ending chapter of how to implement scientific findings to your own life。And the ending epilogue was truly beautiful and an utterly heart wrenching/ incredibly warming way to finish the book。 I truly loved reading this and it was a sure fire winner of 5 stars。 I read an advanced copy of this book with my thanks to the publishers。 All thoughts in this review are my own。 。。。more
Stacey Bookerworm
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It is rare that I chose to read a non-fiction book but when I was offered the chance to read Emotional: The New Thinking About Feelings I sensed it was a book I would enjoy。 Read more of our review here:https://www。bookerworm。com/reviews/78。。。 It is rare that I chose to read a non-fiction book but when I was offered the chance to read Emotional: The New Thinking About Feelings I sensed it was a book I would enjoy。 Read more of our review here:https://www。bookerworm。com/reviews/78。。。 。。。more
Venky
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The ability to break down complicated topics to a degree of simplicity that succeeds in conveying their import but without diluting the underlying essence， is a rare trait。 Leonard Mlodinow is greatly invested with this wonderful gift。 A prolific author of Science， Mlodinow weaves his magic once again in the upcoming book， “Emotional”。 More often than not we are used to being admonished for engaging in conduct driven by emotion。 But are such rebukes warranted？ Is precedence of sentiment over rat The ability to break down complicated topics to a degree of simplicity that succeeds in conveying their import but without diluting the underlying essence， is a rare trait。 Leonard Mlodinow is greatly invested with this wonderful gift。 A prolific author of Science， Mlodinow weaves his magic once again in the upcoming book， “Emotional”。 More often than not we are used to being admonished for engaging in conduct driven by emotion。 But are such rebukes warranted？ Is precedence of sentiment over rationality such a bad thing after all？ Mlodinow in his thought provoking book juxtaposes empirical analysis with psychological factors to demonstrate how emotions play a leading role in our lives。 On the 26th of September 1983， at the peak of the Cold War， Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Petrov was manning a graveyard shift whose mission was to constantly check for missile attacks emanating from the United States。 While he was monitoring the machines， he suddenly noticed five ominous red dots surfacing on the screen。 This meant that the United States had launched five Minuteman missiles at the Soviet Union。 Petrov’s protocol under such circumstances dictated an immediate reporting to his superiors so that the Soviet Union could also launch its own nuclear warheads even though such an act would invariably lead to a Mutually Assured Destruction of two global superpowers。 Petrov however hesitated， as his gut instincts told him there might have been a potential system malfunction。 At the cost of being branded a traitor – if the missile attack was genuine， his country would be annihilated without having a chance to fight back due to a delay in responding – Petrov decided to wait for a heart stopping twenty minutes before informing his superiors of a probable false alarm。 His assessment turned out to be bang on target: the warning system had failed due to some sort of extraneous interference。 No missile was launched against USSR。 Later， when queried on the reason for his reticence， Petrov famously remarked， “I refused to be guilty of starting World War III。” Pioneering developments in the world of medicine have resulted in a paradigm shift in our understanding and evaluation of emotions。 A whole new field of psychology called “affective neuroscience” threatens to upend entrenched dogmas that have informed us regarding the role played by emotions。 A technique referred to as “connectome” for instance， allows scientists to trace various connections among neurons， creating a sort of circuit diagram for the brain。 A connectome enables scientists to explore specific cells in different regions of the brain， and comprehend the electric signals that generate thoughts， feeling and behaviours。 Thus there is a ‘determination switch’ that when turned on， complements the physiological resolve leading to ordinary human beings accomplishing extraordinary feats。 When James Buster Douglas felled the seemingly invincible “Iron” Mike Tyson in what was， and is still， deemed to be the greatest upset in the history of boxing， he was channeling both his physical resilience as well as his psychological determination。 The death of his mother a mere three weeks before the bout， instead of driving him to despair， drove him to levels of concentration which he unfortunately never regained after his historic victory。 The Darwinian notion of emotion was based on a ‘triune model’。 This model contends that the human brain is made up of three successively more sophisticated layers。 The deepest layer is responsible for basic survival instincts， the middle or the limbic layer takes care of the emotional aspects and the outermost or the neocortex layer is the repository of rational thoughts。 However modern research in the domains of neuroscience have demonstrated that the layering is not as simple or elementary as it is made out to be。 There is a complex interaction between the layers， the existence of which was not observed earlier。 Mlodinow also illustrates how emotions guide the process of thinking。 The heart warming story of Nobel Laureate Paul Dirac whose introverted and apparently stone hearted life was transformed by Margit， a divorcee and the sister of a fellow physicist Eugene Wigner is a heart warming story。 The brilliant Dirac married Margit and they were together for fifty years before only death parted the couple。Mlodinow also in the latter half of the book provides his readers with an emotional questionnaire。 The reader upon answering a set of questions can determine their scores based on various emotions such as anger， love， aggression， anxiety and grief。 With a view to dovetail our emotions in setting us onto the right path， Mlodinow recommends a regimen of physical activity combined with the practice of mindfulness。 He also draws on research done by Sonja Lyubomirsky， A Russian born American Professor of Psychology。 According to Lyubomirsky， conscious acts such as optimistically pondering over one’s future， devoting time to family and friends， engaging regularly in acts of kindness towards others， striving to live life in the present moment， committing to lifelong goals etc would go a long way in making emotion a faithful and reliable ally。 Mlodinow also devotes some space in informing the viewers about his personal experience involving the application of emotions。 Both his parents were Holocaust survivors。 In fact his father owed his life and survival to an inexplicable moment of emotional reaction。 Deciding at the last second not to get inside a truck that had a band of resistance friends， Mlodinow’ s father watched with stupefaction as a band of SS soldiers intercepted the truck and gunned down all its occupants。 Mlodinow’ s mother who died at the ripe old age of ninety eight carried the emotional scars of a concentration camp all through her life。 The final Chapter in which Mlodinow described her passing， after contracting the COVID-19 virus， but not before putting up a grand fight， is both heart breaking as well as life affirming。Next time anybody reprimands you for being too very emotional or acting without reason， please do not get bogged down。 Instead use the three techniques alluded to by Mlodinow in assessing and reassessing your thought， word and deed。 First develop a sense of stoic attitude。 Learn to accept things that cannot be changed and instead plan on how acceptance can be turned to your advantage。 Second， inculcate an attribute of reappraisal。 When confronted with a difficult situation， try to discover an element of optimism and then reappraise your odds。 Finally， express your emotions。 At the heat of the moment， put down every thought that assails you in writing。 There is no need to share what you have written with anyone。 Expressing your thoughts and feelings at the moment of occurrence and getting back to them later makes you feel and become more sanguine。 More than anything else， please get yourself a copy of “Emotional”！ （Emotional: How Feelings Shape Our Thinking by Leonard Mlodinow is published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and will be available for sale on the 11th of January 2022）Thank You， Net Galley for the Advance Review Copy 。。。more
Kate Potapenko
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Curiosity killed the cat， but。。。 did you ever wander。。。What's the difference between feeling and emotions？What's the difference between wanting and liking something？How different factors affect our decision making？Turns out fruit flies are very similar to people in certain situations and they often look for alcohol after being rejected by opposite sex。 Apparently it's not enough to like something in order to get motivated， you need to want it and not necessarily like it at all。。 Many things that Curiosity killed the cat， but。。。 did you ever wander。。。What's the difference between feeling and emotions？What's the difference between wanting and liking something？How different factors affect our decision making？Turns out fruit flies are very similar to people in certain situations and they often look for alcohol after being rejected by opposite sex。 Apparently it's not enough to like something in order to get motivated， you need to want it and not necessarily like it at all。。 Many things that seemed kind of obvious， like feeling demotivated when you're depressed look different to me now as I understood the mechanics of it。。It's hard to share all the curious and wonderful things this book is filled with in a couple of sentences， but it's great。It is well worded and easy to read， broken down into smaller chapters too， which helps as often reading something heavy on information you get a bit of an overload。 It also has quite a few examples of when things are same but different and it makes you see a lot of what you knew before in a different light。It is educational and entertaining！ What else could you possibly want？！P。S。 There are also some questionnaires in the end if you want to find out more about your emotional profile。 。。。more
David Wineberg
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The learning curve to understand how humans work has gone parabolic。 In the just the past few years， scientists have finally discovered there are brain systems that manage pleasure， that are separate from systems that manage desire。 There is an actual cacophony going on in our bodies， 24 hours a day， as everything communicates in its own channel， to its own audience， and acts accordingly。 They are discovering the locations of things like anxiety， happiness， disgust， guilt and shame。 Mostly they The learning curve to understand how humans work has gone parabolic。 In the just the past few years， scientists have finally discovered there are brain systems that manage pleasure， that are separate from systems that manage desire。 There is an actual cacophony going on in our bodies， 24 hours a day， as everything communicates in its own channel， to its own audience， and acts accordingly。 They are discovering the locations of things like anxiety， happiness， disgust， guilt and shame。 Mostly they are discovering that none of these things works in isolation。 They only work in concert， in consultation， in combination。 Leonard Mlodinow explores some of these discoveries using his delightful and addictive storytelling style in his latest book Emotional。Personally， the most compelling finding is that last one， that nothing works by itself alone。 Isolating and triggering a trait gives you nothing but a dysfunctional person。 You can’t have the full effect of any function without the input and effects of several others。 This is part of the reason why brain functions have been so difficult to nail down， and why nailing them down has produced so little for science。 We have been vainly searching for the controller， the seat of the mind and a soul， continuously ignoring the evidence that results。 There is no controller。 We are interacting systems。 Every system plays its part and the result is a person， a personality， a mind。 There is a command network， but it works with numerous other networks to collectively present who we are to the world， and to ourselves。 Emotions color those factors， and are colored by them。 Everything is a two way street。The degree of determination or drive makes a difference。 It is filtered and affected by other control systems。 The sunny or cloudy outlook makes a difference。 Bad experiences do too。 The matrix nature of us makes it hard to put everything in its own place， much less make it predictable or changeable。 But then， we’re not meant to do that。 We are instead complex beings， the products of an infinite number of factors， permutations and combinations。 That’s precisely what makes humans different from other beings。 We have a “core affect” that is the net of all these inputs。In a series of dazzling stories， Mlodinow traces discoveries， both on purpose and accidental， and what impact they have had on our understanding of ourselves。 In this book， he employs himself and his family。 His parents， both Holocaust survivors， were two completely different people， whose scarring led to totally different personalities for them。 His siblings and children fit into some of the stories， and of course Mlodinow himself is hyper sensitive to his own actions， attitudes and thought processes， which factor into several of the tales， if only because he was writing this book。 It makes for a fast paced and varied read， far more autobiographical than readers have come to expect of him。 During the course of the book， Mlodinow’s mother， who starts out in her 90s， is profiled as a young mother with her own unique take on the world and raising her children。 She ages as the book progresses， ending up in a nursing home where he cannot visit her because of Covid-19。 She isn’t the backbone of the book， but her personality is relevant at several points， causing emotional reactions in Mlodinow as she declines。The brain/body connection is more central here。 Who we are affects our bodies in ways that often affect others and how they perceive and experience us。 There are even several personality tests towards the end， that might or might not help readers see how others see them。 Mlodinow says there are no right or wrong answers， just potential insights。 A lot is quite recent: “It wasn’t until 2015 that， fueled by recent advances in genetics， scientists began to uncover the true roots of such illnesses （like bipolar and schizophrenia）。 Much more work needs to be done， but we now know that they arise in patients having fewer genes involved in signaling between neurons and more genes related to neuro-inflammatory cells， which leads to low-level but chronic brain inflammation。 An excess of dopamine production， related to the reward system， also seems to play a role but in a more complex and subtle manner。” We are beginning to see what makes people different， and why， from a physiological standpoint。 One of the non-emotions common in humans is the need to categorize。 Everything must fit in a bucket somewhere。 So emotions are classified as positive or negative: “The sum of all the research on positive emotion is that people who have plenty of positive emotion in their lives tend to be healthier and more creative and to get along well with others。 Positive emotion makes us more resilient， strengthening the emotional resources needed for coping， and broadens our awareness， allowing us to see more options when faced with a problem。” （Maybe so， but it reads like a horoscope。）And negative emotions serve to keep people on their toes。 He gives the example of financial traders who must make split second decisions that could make or lose hundreds of millions of dollars – all day long。 Being affable is not an asset here。 Those with more negative outlooks and attitudes are more successful in trading。 The bottom line is there is no “correct” way to be a human。Scientists have discovered， quite by accident at first， that motivation is not the same as desire or pleasure。 Rats can be seen not to eat their favorite foods unless motivation is triggered as well as desire， and not enjoy their favorite foods but eat them just to stay alive if the pleasure function is missing。 This is more evidence of multiple systems interacting to produce a functioning being。So with humans。 Various faults and failings in the interconnected networks can make some seem unemotional， lacking the key functions of self-preservation， or empathy。 Their very presence can be offputting to fully functioning people and therefore make it difficult for them to have fully operational relationships。 All this is fine insight scientists are only now assembling。For all that， I fought the book as I read it。 A book called Emotional， at least to me， should be or at least contain， stories of outbursts， dysfunction， gaining self-control， learning to accept others， self-editing， manipulation and life-changing adjustments。 Self control and self awareness are key factors when examining emotions， I would have thought。 It should examine gender differences and the leveraging of emotions in manipulative fashions。 What does too little mean？ What about too much？ The book actually contains none of this: nothing about what most readers would consider emotions。 It is only and all about this broader span of functions that most people would not consider emotions eg。 guilt， shame， determination， motivation and disgust:t“Hunger （a Primordial emotion） is an emotion that helps us decide whether to eat something available （walk away from free food） rather than just employ a series of rules。” He says there are five states distinguishing emotions from reflexes， but readers will find that doesn’t bridge the gap。He says some emotions are “social emotions” like guilt， shame， jealousy， indignation， gratitude， admiration， empathy and pride。 As I read， I kept thinking – that’s not an emotion！ It’s a mood， or a state， a reflex， a trigger or a reaction – but not an emotion as I know them。 It’s not a good way to read a fine book。 It really needs some explaining right up front。 Or a better title。 Maybe Expanding Emotions。It concludes with three ways to gain control of emotions: acceptance， appraisal and expression。 We’re probably most familiar with the last one， where talking it out or writing it down defuses the emotion， such as anger or hurt。 So it’s not just a physiology book。 It is very much an affective psychology journey as well。Mlodinow takes great pains to describe it all and make it understandable with his always-appropriate stories。 But I have a two sentence shortcut for regaining control over emotions。 It’s old but still quite trustworthy: Don’t sweat the small stuff。 And: It’s all small stuff。 That’s a key life lesson that should be front and center。 Just by itself， it explains most of what you need to know about emotions。David Wineberg 。。。more
Angie Boyter
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